Marshal Ward
Herbert Marshal Ward is a retired U.S. Air Force Major General whose final active-duty assignment, held until his retirement around 2001, was Director of Special Programs within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (OUSD(AT&L)) — the predecessor office to today's separate Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD A&S) and Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD R&E), which split off from OUSD(AT&L) in 2018. He also served as Executive Secretary of the Special Access Program Oversight Committee (SAPOC).
| Role | U.S. Air Force Major General (retired); former Director of Special Programs, OUSD(AT&L); former Executive Secretary, SAPOC |
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The Wilson-Davis Memo
According to the Wilson-Davis Memo, Ward — alongside Secretary of Defense Bill Perry — advised Vice Admiral Thomas Wilson in 1997 to examine records held within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology (OUSD(AT)) as part of Wilson's investigation into a crash retrieval and reverse engineering program. Both Ward and Perry reportedly told Wilson of a "special project records group not belonging to usual special access programs" — a special subset of unacknowledged carve-outs and waived programs organized in 1994 under Perry's SAP reforms.
Role in UAP Programs
UAP Gerb's Special Access Required Vol.2 identifies Ward, alongside General Dawn Dunlop, as a former director-level figure within the DoD Special Access Program Central Office (SAPCO) structure, and treats his documented role advising Wilson in 1997 as evidence that Ward held direct knowledge of the crash retrieval program described in the Wilson-Davis notes.